Sunday, June 13, 2010

Warm to SSM in Iceland

Scale can mean speed in same-sex marriage. That is, smaller is often faster and more efficient.

Consider that volcanic place, Iceland. This weekend, the Althingi (parliament) enacted nationwide SSM. The vote was 49 to 0 (14 absent but not protesting).

There are a couple of contrasts and lessons for us. First, we can contrast size; Iceland has just over 0.1% of our population at about 320,000 to about 309 million. That can mean quick action, agility and even tolerance. Second, the head of state is openly gay — Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir. Her nomination and election may say more about the openness of the country than the SSM vote.

More to our issues here, religion was a consideration. That nation has a state church, Lutheran The National Church of Iceland. As here and elsewhere, clerics can solemnize same-sex marriages or pass on them. The sillies who swear that accommodating gay couples means the end of freedom of religion can't even claim that in Iceland.